1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a preformed laminate and method for patching holes and covering holes in drywall construction.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Drywall, also referred to as Sheetrock, provides a relatively inexpensive and desirable wall surface in many residential and commercial buildings. Drywall is, however, subject to having holes or indentations made therein during construction or later in use when struck by certain objects, for example, corners of furniture. The traditional approach to repairing such holes was first to fill the hole with a backing such as newspaper, rags, wire mesh, or the like, and then to overlay the backing with a patching compound. This method has proven undesirable because of the difficulty in maintaining the backing material in place. Even in those instances where a repair is completed, the repaired area remains a weak spot in the wall. Also, considerable time and finishing work is required.
It has been proposed to repair damaged drywall by circumscribing the damaged part with a uniform cutout, e.g. rectangular, inserting a cutout piece of wallboard of similar dimensions as the hole and holding this patch insert in place by suitable cement or by means of various spring-loaded or other devices which act on the inner surface of the opposing wall. Such repair devices require not only an opposing wall located behind the damaged wall but also frequently require a number of mechanical parts which must be carefully secured in the proper location. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,690,084 and 3,936,988 are illustrative of such devices.
Also, it has been known to insert a folding patch of larger dimension than the hole to be prepared and then cementing or holding this folding patch in place while the repair is completed. U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,505 illustrates this form of repair.
In new construction work, finishing of wallboard joints has required numerous trips and hours of work by the drywall mechanic to build up the laminar cover of compound-paper-compound and to achieve a desired finish which could be painted, wallpapered, et cetera, and hide all indications of a joint. Also, various forms of joint tape have been employed to cover the abutting wallboard edges. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,181,530 and 3,066,450 illustrate such tapes.
In all examples of prior art drywall finishing or patch kits, finishing or patch procedures, joint covering procedures, and the like, known to the applicant, considerable time has been required to build up the final laminar structure and the job normally requires that the drywall mechanic make repeated visits to the job to add or sand the joint compound to make it suitable for final painting or other wall treatment. The prior art has been primarily directed toward means and procedures for filling the hole or joint and not to providing preformed exposed surface material so as to eliminate this part of the job and to improve this aspect of the overall job. So far as is known, the prior art has not taught the concept of providing a preformed laminate which can be quickly installed, can be finished in a single operation suitable for final wall treatment, i.e., painting or the like, and in which the laminate itself provides a preformed rigid, thin laminar layer of the finishing compound that would otherwise have to be hand-troweled and finished over the hole or joint as is customary in prior art procedures.